Under Armour doesn’t want to be your parents’ shoe company.
The Baltimore-based sports apparel firm is gearing up for the release of its running footwear line on Jan. 31 with three new 30-second commercials. The ads, which debuted over the weekend on MTV, ESPN and NFL Network, sell the Under Armour attitude that so many high school- and college-age athletes have related to in recent years.
“Clearly, they’re going for younger customers,” said Brady Lemos, an analyst who follows Under Armour for Morningstar. “It’s kind of like Nike was the parents’ brand, and Under Armour is going for the kids.”
In the new commercials, there are quick cuts of professional athletes like the Washington Redskins’ Santana Moss, the New York Giants’ Brandon Jacobs and Olympic soccer player Heather Mitts, training, running and sweating.
The campaign’s slogan is short and to the point: “Athletes Run.”
There are few glimpses of the shoes, but the ads are more about selling the Under Armour brand.
“That’s kind of the recipe for success in the industry. Nike’s done a great job, and that’s the blueprint Under Armour is following,” Lemos said. “It’s all about building the brand.”
The campaign’s goal was to show that all athletes in training need to run to improve overall performance, said Marcus Stephens, Under Armour’s senior creative director who led the campaign development. “I think all athletes can relate to the creative.”
The move to running footwear is bold for Under Armour, which at this time last year was gearing up for the debut of its ad campaign for cross-training shoes. The company kicked off the campaign with a 60-second commercial during the Super Bowl and began selling cross-trainers in May. Under Armour opted against spending big dollars on a Super Bowl ad this year.
Under Armour first stepped into the footwear arena in 2006, beginning with football cleats, and followed up in 2007 with baseball cleats. Last year’s cross-training debut was big for the company, as the cross-training footwear industry is about a $1.2 billion market.
The running footwear industry is an entirely different animal, as it’s a $4.7 billion market ruled by giants like Nike, New Balance and Asics. Under Armour will offer three types of shoes for men and women, at $90, $110 and $120. “They’re right in line with who they want to compete with,” Lemos said. “Nike and New Balance both sell technical running shoes for about $120.”
Athletes at all levels have been running and buying running shoes for years, but Under Armour is coming at the market with a fresh approach to “reinvigorate” consumers, said Under Armour Chief Executive Officer Kevin Plank.
“That we’re going to be selling running shoes is a big statement for our brand,” Plank said in a previous conference call. “Our job as a brand is to create innovation and create new stories out there.”
